Building construction



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BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 3 Sheets-snee?l 5 Filed June 5, 1950 Unite States Patent O s BUILDING CONSTRUCTION William G. .lohusom Thiensville, and Robert J. Castleton, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to Industrial Research Laboratories, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsul Application June 3, 1950, Serial No. 165,968

2 Claims. (Cl. 189-86) This invention relates to building constructions and is particularly directed to the paneling for finishing the inside walls of rooms.

Objects of this invention are to provide a panel construction which can be made in regular sizes and lengths, so as to fit the accepted standard of sixteen-inch modules and which is so made that it may be applied either in horizontal or in vertical lengths or in any combination of horizontal and vertical lengths as, for example, three walls finished in one manner and the fourth wall finished in the other manner, or in which all of the walls may be finished in the same manner.

When it is considered that eighty per cent of the labor in the building of an ordinary type of home is consumed in finishing the interior of the building, it becomes at once apparent that any means which will lessen this amount of labor will materially reduce the cost of the building construction and it is, therefore, a further object of this invention to provide a very simple type of building construction which may be used with a minimum amount of labor.

Specifically, objects of this invention are to provide a composite paneling for the interior of a building such as a home for instance, in which the outer or exposed surface of the paneling is of metal, preferably sheet metal aluminum and is finished in any suitable manner as by means of painting with added sized silicaor other material to produce a soft surface and which is backed with a thermal insulating and reinforcing material such as a fibrous backing, the fibrous backing itself being coated with bitumen and being provided with a paper sheeting firmly glued thereto and initially wrapped around the exposed face of the aluminum surface to protect it during shipment, such paper being adapted to be extended when each panel strip is nailed in place, so as to provide a continuous paper backing extending behind all of the y panels.

Further objects are to provide a panel construction in which the panels are so made that they interfit or interlock and prevent the seepage of air into or out of the room, such effect being further enhanced by the paper sheeting hereinabove described, and in which the panels themselves constitute thermal insulating members.

Further objects are to provide a composite building material which is so made that it can be manufactured at a relatively small cost and Vcan be easily handled with assurance that during shipping there will be no damage to the finished metal surface from ordinary handling of the product, and in which this protecting means is, as hereinabove stated, used to provide an overlapping paper sheeting for successive panels.

An embodiment .of the invention is shown in the` accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a..perspective view of a corner of a room with the `paneling partly in place and with parts of the structure broken away.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view through adjacent 70 studding and one section of paneling.

s 2,717,668 Patentedsept. 13, 1955 ICC Figure 3 is a sectional view with the paper sheeting shown in section and with the general outline of the paneling shown in imaginary lines for the sake of clearness.

Figure .4 is a detail section showing the manner in which the upper edge of the paneling adjacent the ceiling can be finished.

Figure 5 is a detail section showing the manner in which the bottom marginal portion of the paneling adjacent the base board can be finished.

Figure 6 is a view showing the manner in which a door or window or other opening is finished.

Figure 7 is a sectional view of one of the corner finishing strips or members.

Figure 8 is a sectional view of a corner portion showing the manner in which the finishing strip for the corner may be employed for a combined square and tapered corner of adjacent panelings.

Figure 9 is a further View showing how square ends at the corner portions of the paneling may be finished.

Figure l0 is a view showing a reentrant beveled corner and a Square corner with the nished strip in place.

Figure ll is a corner sectional view showing the manner in which the corner finishing strip or member is employed where there are two adjacent beveled surfaces extending in opposite directions.

Figure 12 is a view showing the manner in which the corner portionmay be finished where the two beveled sections extend in the same direction.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that paneling consists of a series of units each of which is composed of an outer metal member l which may be of thin aluminum or other thin metal. This outer metal member is backed by means of a reinforcing thermal insulating member 2 which is preferably of fibrous material, though any suitable material can be used. It is preferable to dip or otherwise coat the backing or intermediate insulating member 2 with bitumen, so as to render it waterproof. The backing member 2 is securely glued to the lfront metal member 1 by waterproof glue. The backing or reinforcing member 2 is provided with a paper sheeting strip 3 which covers its entire rear face and which is glued thereto, preferably by means of a waterproof glue. This paper strip 3 has an extended portion which is initially wrapped around the forward or outer face of the metal member 1 to protect such yface during shipping or prior to assembly on the studding. Y

The metal member 1 is finished by painting, enameling, baking or otherwise treating the outer surface so as to provide an attractive exposed surface for the metal member 1. This finishing surface is protected initially .by the wrapping of the backing strip of paper sheeting around the unit as shown in Figure 3. These units are stacked for shipment as shown in Figure 3.

It is preferable to finish the st rip 1 with any desired shade, ,such as pastel shades, and to provide a sized silica or other inert material which is added to the paint te provide a Soft finish- The painted, exposed surface may be washed, may be repainted, or may be papered Ait desired.

It is to be 0noted that each panel unit or strip is provided with a reentrant er notched portion 4 at one end which `has an. outwardly extending rear lip 5 provided with a plural-.ity of apertures 6, See Figure 1. .adapted t0 receive nails as indicated at 7, whereby it may be attached to Vstudding or to .the structural members S. The other end or marginal portion of the panel is beveled as indie., V.ed .at 9 in Figure 2, and it will be seen particularly from Figure l that the successive beveled edges or portions 9 fit into the preceding reentrant ,angles or notched portions 4. This is also shown in considerable detail in Figure 12.

In using the paneling, the iirst panel or section is nailed to the studding as shown in Figure 2 and thereafter the next panel has its beveled portion 9 fitted within the notch 4 of the preceding panel, thus covering the nail heads and providing a tight seal. Also it is to be understood that as each panel is put in place, the paper backing or sheeting 3 is unwrapped and extended as shown in detail in Figures l and 2 so as to provide successive overlapping paper backing strips which, in addition to the interitting of the beveled portions 9 and the notched portion 4, provide a substantially windproof structure to prevent the seeping of air into or out of the room through the wall portions.

As shown in Figure 1 the paneling may be arranged either horizontally or vertically or, if desired, a combination of these two methods may be followed. As an illustration, three sides of the room could be finished with horizontal paneling and the fourth side with vertical paneling.

The panel members are preferably made in multiples of sixteen inches, which is the ordinary spacing of center to center of the studding. They may be made in any desired length. However, for an extremely long wall it is preferable to arrange the panels vertically. For the ordinary, moderate size room, the panels may be arranged horizontally and are intended to extend from adjacent one corner completely across a wall to adjacent the other corner.

The bottom of the paneling may be finished off by means of base board strips or members 10 which, if desired, may be supplemented by a quarter round or other finishing strip 11, the latter being preferably placed over the rubber tiling 12 of the iioor, for example.

The upper marginal portion of the paneling may be iinishing by a molding strip 13, see Figure 4. If desired, a filling strip 14 may be positioned in contact with the upper beveled portion 9 of the uppermost panel member and may be nailed in place, such nails being omitted in the drawings for the sake of clearness. Figure 5 is an enlarged detail of the structure and shows how the bottom edge of the wall may be iinished oif where a concrete iioor 15 is provided. In this case it may be desirable to put in a rectangular spacing strip 16 prior to fastening the base board 17 in place. The quarter round or other finishing strip 18 is again positioned above the rubber tiling 19.

Details such as the window openings may be nished in any desired manner. A convenient way is to provide a spacer strip 20 at the end of each wall portion and to provide the finishing face strip 21 and end strips 22.

The vertical corner portions of the paneling may be provided with a finishing strip or member 23, see Figure 7, which may be formed of suitably painted, enameled, or otherwise nished aluminum. This iinishing strip or corner strip 23 is provided with an exposed bead 24 and with a base portion 25 arranged at an angle to its main body portion 23. Various ways in which this finishing corner member 23 may be employed are illustrated in Figures 8 through 12, and it will be seen that this finishing strip can be readily positioned before the last panel member is finally put in place or may be positioned during the time the last panel member is being positioned.

It will be seen that the corner finishing strip is always anchored securely beneath the end of one of the panel members and it is to be understood that the base portion 25 thereof may be nailed in place, not shown, if so desired, prior to the positioning of the interlocking or interiitting panel member.

It will be seen that a novel form of building construction has been provided whereby the interior of the rooms of a home or building may be most economically and quickly finished with a minimum amount of labor. It will be seen also that the paneling provides an ornamental and attractive wall which is substantially windproof and which provides a very high degree of thermal insulation.

In outlying districts it is particularly desirable that the combustibility of a building be greatly reduced. The panel construction hereinabove described materially reduces the combustibility of a home as the outer members embrace or surround the iibrous material. In addition to this, if desired, the fibrous material can be made fireproof in any well known manner.

Further, it will be seen that the panels may be very readily shipped in stacked form with assurance that the finished surfaces will not be marred or damaged.

Although this invention has been described in considerable detail, it is to be understood that such description is intended as illustrative rather than limiting, as the invention may be variously embodied and s to be interpreted as claimed.

We claim:

1. Laminated paneling comprising a series of interlocking elements, each element having a thermal insulating backing, a thin sheet of metal extending completely across the front face of the backing and across its marginal edges and secured to said backing, said sheet metal at one marginal edge of said backing extending at an angle from the body of said sheet metal and forming a bevel edge and at the other marginal edge of said bac.'- ing extending inwardly and having an outwardly projecting lip forming a reentrant angle, said lip constituting an attaching means for attachment to the framework of a house, the outwardly projecting angular portion of a succeeding element being positioned in interlocking relation within the said reentrant angle of the preceding element, each of said elements including a paper sheeting strip secured to the rear face of said thermal backing and projecting outwardly behind the next adjacent element, and the paper sheeting strip being of sufficient length to wrap around the front face of said sheet metal to protect said face during shipment.

2. Laminated paneling comprising a series of interlocking elements, each element having a thermal insulating backing, a thin sheet of metal extending completely across the front face of the backing and across its marginal edges and secured to said backing, said sheet metal at one marginal edge of said backing extending at an angle from the body of said sheet metal and forming a bevel edge and at the other marginal edge of said backing extending inwardly and having an outwardly projecting lip forming a reentrant angle, said lip constituting an attaching means for attachment to the framework of a house, the outwardly projecting angular portion of a succeeding element being positioned in interlocking relation within the said reentrant angle of the preceding element, each of said elements including a paper sheeting strip secured to the rear face of said thermal backing and projecting outwardly behind the next adjacent element, and the paper sheeting strip being of suiiicient length to wrap around the front face of said sheet metal to protect said face during shipment, the front face of each metal sheet having a finished surface.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 531,999 Hunleth Jan. 1, 1895 940,378 Dunbar et al 1 Nov. 16, 1909 950,832 Banning Mar. 1, 1910 1,305,492 Quass June 3, 1919 1,885,330 Cherdron et al Nov. 1, 1932 1,889,091 Fried Nov. 29, 1932 1,975,842 Gillett et al Oct. 9, 1934 2,108,682 Leslie Feb. 15, 1938 2,109,655 Sylvan Mar. 1, 1938 2,114,155 Streich Apr. 12, 1938 2,264,961 Ward Dec. 2, 1941 

